Obviously this movie is meant to satisfy a particular niche, being a light thriller and basically a farce on every level. So no one realistically is going to watch this with any serious intent to watch a thoughtful, sincere movie. But for what it is, the movie succeeds quite well. Since this is part of a movie series, I watched the first one for comparison. I think it's safe to say this latest entry in the series is better by far. The first movie was more serious and believable - the main character was a villain but things were kept to more believable limits. In this movie, any attempts at realism are completely abandoned. The doctor is much larger than life and now he's more of an obsessed maniac who targets his victim with reckless abandon. Eric Roberts really shines in the role, and he seems to enjoy playing this wild and goofy character - he's almost clownlike in such things as how he walks and wears horribly tailored suits and lambasts all sensibility. His character in the first film was much more demur and restrained, and thus much less engaging - Roberts really owns it in this one. Another improvement in this film was the pacing, from the initial setup to conclusion things were more evenly and satisfyingly staggered. In conclusion, I feel like this wasn't just another lame entry in a series to cash in on an undemanding audience - rather it does offer improvement on the original, even though it follows almost exactly the same formula.
